Board goes high-tech with iPads

County supervisors get iPads at cost of $850 apiece

GLOUCESTER — The Gloucester Board of Supervisors has entered a new technological domain.

The county has purchased iPads for each member of the Board of Supervisors, giving them quick access to county email, documents and other board-related business at any location.

Each iPad costs $850 and includes a built-in Verizon wireless air card. Giving supervisors iPads allows for more efficient delivery of board packet information and other documents, reports, or information that would otherwise be in notebooks and binders, said Christi Lewis, a county spokeswoman.

It will also offer more immediate and mobile access to board packages, email and documents without dependence on a laptop or desktop computer, she said.

"The iPad is filling a role for more efficient, available and mobile access to information and resources," Lewis said.

All seven members of the Board of Supervisors received iPads at a daylong orientation session on Tuesday at Withcomb Lodge in Beaverdam Park.

The supervisors met with each department head, County Administrator Brenda Garton and County Attorney Ted Wilmot, as well as the county's constitutional officers.

Supervisor-elect Ashley Chriscoe, who will take Michelle Ressler's seat on the board in January, said the meeting was very helpful, not only with giving them an understanding of the various departments, but also putting faces with names.

The meeting will help the four new supervisors to "hit the ground running on Jan. 1," he said.

Lewis said it is the first time the county has had an orientation meeting with supervisors-elect, current supervisors and all department heads and constitutional officers. Topics covered included parliamentary procedure, Freedom of Information Act laws, the first Board of Supervisors meeting, making Board appointments and other topics.

Garton said she had a number of goals for the orientation, including staff and supervisors getting to know each other better, distributing iPads and familiarizing the group with using them and introducing the new supervisors to how county departments and various county functions fit together, work together and interact in daily operations.

"It was a very packed and productive day and all goals were accomplished," Garton said.

iPads for Supervisors

An iPad is a step above an iPhone and a step below a laptop computer. Lightweight and portable, the device will allow supervisors quick access to email, board packages and other county documents. The devices also come equipped with a Verizon air card that allows them to connect to wireless internet wherever they are.